Group Managing Director of Brisbane-based Napiers Financial Services, Mr David Napier, found that available software packages deliver poor performance, limited functionality, and are difficult to use. After two frustrating and costly attempts to implement an effective office management system, he decided it was time to take a new approach.

"once:technologies has installed systems in several large financial institutions and a major funds manager. So we felt they had the credentials to create the sort of system we were looking for." Mr Napier said.

His first condition was total ownership of, and free access to his data. Many systems on the market claim to deliver this but as he found, extracting the data is far from easy and usually impossible.

Secondly, the system had to be easy to use.

"I don't want my staff to become a slave to the computer. We found other systems too difficult so they were never used correctly and, from talking to other brokers, this seems to be the case with most software on the market. The people at once:technologies listened to our feedback and refined the system until it worked the way our admin staff and consultants work," Mr Napier explained.

The new system (dubbed once:fortuna) runs on a server in their Brisbane office, accessible from anywhere via a web browser. To protect client information, security and data integrity are paramount. The server requires continual session identification. Screens, reports and data can be restricted to limit access to information based on a simple set of rules for each class of user.

A strong emphasis of the design has been on minimizing data entry. Information that seldom changes is automatically attached to new applications. This saves a lot of time and effort.

The Napier group of companies consists of several separate entities. The system allows consultants to select the appropriate entity, based on the type of application. The printed application is automatically formatted to match the style set for the selected entity.

Napiers Financial Services is a member of the Financial Brokers Association of Australia. FBAA General Manager, Mr Maurie Unwin, believes that better information management is an essential investment for its members.

"Industry pressures from government, lenders and customers make it essential that we continually work to lift the level of professionalism and efficiency. We have monitored progress as this project has advanced and we have been impressed by what has been achieved. The FBAA will assist once:technologies to extend its trials and will provide advice on further development," Mr Unwin said.